Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what progress his Department is making on meeting the 2.3 per cent public sector apprenticeship target; and when his Department will meet that target.

As of 31 March 2020, the Civil Service has achieved a total of 2.1% of its total workforce as apprentices. Since 1 April 2020, Cabinet Office has achieved c.1% apprentice starts representing more apprentice starts at this stage in the financial year than in previous years. We run regular recruitment campaigns for apprentices; with a new campaign being advertised this week. The data for 2018/19 can be found here. The data for 2019/20 will be released on gov.uk by the end of September 2020.

Departments are committed to increasing the number of apprentices across the Civil Service and continue to work towards the 2.3% target. The current pandemic has had an impact on the Cabinet Office’s apprenticeship ambition due to priority work and logistics. With the current strategy and targets coming to an end in April 2021, the Civil Service is already focusing on how to continue to support the apprenticeship agenda and drive forward apprenticeship recruitment, pulling on the Plan for Jobs initiative and considering the current economic situation.